At least two companies have begun selling tests that claim to help determine if a child is genetically programmed to play a certain sport, says The Washington Post's Rob Stein. The companies say their tests can set children on a course to playing a sport for which they have "innate skills" and could get scholarships, Stein adds. But critics are calling these tests "questionable" and say that no DNA kit can tell a parent whether their children's genes will influence their athletic prowess. FDA, which is already trying to figure out how to regulate all of the DTC genetic tests flooding the market, has sent a letter to at least one of the companies selling a sports test, demanding an explanation for the company's marketing of the test without FDA authorization, Stein says. "I think this company is a good advertisement for the need for more regulation of genomic testing," Stanford University bioethicist Hank Greely tells Stein.
Our sister publication GenomeWeb Daily News has more on the letters sent by FDA.